Why Some People Dislike You The Same Way Always,#2

This is the hillside upon which Jesus Christ gave His "Sermon On The Mount" to a large multitude of men, women and children almost two thousand years ago. In the last post, we mentioned a portion of our Lord's words from that sermon.

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:1-3)


Let's look closely at these words of Jesus, for there has never been a psychologist like Him. In His words our Lord states a principle of life. To the multitude He instructs that there are those of the multitude who inappropriately judge and criticize others, looking at the "speck" in their brother's eye, while ignoring the "plank" in their own eye!

Now, are we to suppose that from within this large gathering were the only people who arrogantly judged and criticized this way? Of course not. Jesus told the people, thus tells us today, that this "speck and plank psychology" emanates potentially from the sinful hearts of all we who walk the earth.

In psychoanalytic terms, the phenomena is referred to as "Negative Projection". What Sigmund Freud called an "Ego Defense Mechanism". Something of a natural human psyche "reflex action". Defined more specifically as a projecting and amplifying upon someone innocent, a fault that is in the one projecting, in order to avoid seeing that fault that is in the one projecting. (Like light beaming through movie film, projecting and reflecting upon a theater cinema screen.)

The point is, heartless criticism, cruel judgements, callous blaming, gossip and a sharp tongue in negative thought and speech, are always done, sadly, at someone else's expense. And when so done, it subverts and distracts in order to ignore and draw attention away from that very thing that is wrong in ourselves.

Christ had strong words against this. He didn't only call it some simple "mental-process-of-assimilating-thought" that an accusing negative thinker needs to improve upon when it is convenient. No, Jesus, being God personified, used harsh words for those who persist in such behavior. Why is this? Because people accusing wrongly, accuse falsely the innocent. But even more, they accuse "most falsely" the "most innocent", with use of the very thing for which "they themselves" are guilty.

And this principle surrounds us in the world today on many levels and in many places. In our personal interactions with others, and in a myriad of human institutions.

(Future blogs on "Why Some People Dislike You The Same Way Always", will develop further how this has personal application in our lives, and what to we can do about it. ... This particular post was more an establishing of a basis further for the thesis written in "Part 1". I decided to do this in response to comments received in "Part 1". ... Your attention and patience is appreciated.)

[Feel free to offer your thoughts or comments by contacting: http://www.catholicpsychology.blogspot.com/ .]